Cell-case machine.



No. 667,287. Patented Feb. 5, |90I.

J. H. BATCHELDER. CELL CASE MACHINE.

(Application led Nov. 27, 1899.)

(No Model.) 4 Sheets-Sheet l.

Mii/26.5565

Emior No. 667,287. Patented Feb. 5, |90l.

Y J. H. BATCHELDER.

CELL CASE MACHINE.

(Application 81nd Nov. 27, 1899.)

Sheets-Sheet Z f www@ No. 667,287. Patented Feb. 5,v 190|. J. H.BATcHELnEn.

CELL CASE MACHINE.

(Application led Nov. -27, 1899.) Wo Model.) 4 Sheets-Sheet 3.

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No. 667,287. I A Patented Feb. 5, |90l.

J. H. BATCHELDER. CELL CASE MACHINE. (Application led Nov. 27, 1899.)

Wo Model.) 4 Sheets-Sheet 4.

liwllli trates the cam and a part of the depending lUNITED STATES PATENTrricn.

JAMES H. BATCHELDER, 0F TAMA, IOWA.

CELL-CASE MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming' part 0f Letters Patent No. 667,287, datedFebruary 5, 1 901.

Application filed November 27, 1899. Serial No. 738,277. (No model.)

T0 @ZZ whom t may concern:

Beit known that I, JAMES H. BATCHELDER, a citizen of the United States,residing at Tama, in the county of Tama and State of Iowa, have inventedcertain new and useful Improvements in Cell-Case Machines; and I dohereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact descriptionof the invention, such as Will enable others skilled in the art to whichit appertains to make and use the same..

This invention relates to that type of automatic machines for making andinterlocking the strawboard strips for egg-cell cases in which therespective strips are punched by a pair of punch-heads, one on each sideof the machine, the severed strips are carried by suitable holders fromthe initial punch to the top of the machine, Where the strip-carrier isturned ninety degrees, the cross-strips are at the other punch-headinterlocked with the initial series and cut off, and the completedcell-case is finally discharged at the bottom of the machine.

This invention has for its obj ect to improve the feed mechanism, thevmechanism for turning the strip-carriers one quarter of a revolution,the carrier-actuatin g mechanism, the cell-case ejector, and otherdetails in a machine of this type, as Will fully appear from thedescription and claims following, y reference being had to theaccompanying drawings, in Which- Figure l is a general View inperspective of a machine embodying my improvements. Fig. 2 is a similarview of the same as seen from the otherside. Fig. 3, Sheet 2, is alargerview of the upper part of the machine as shown in Fig. 2, but from amore elevated point of View. Fig. 4 is a fragmentary perspective viewshowing parts near the base of the machine on the side opposite to Fig.3. Fig. 5, Sheet 3, is a central section of the machine longitudinal tothe base. Fig. 6 illusarm connecting With the slapperor strip bottomingdevice. Fig. 7, Sheet 4, is a rear elevation showing one of the strip-carrier trucks and its connection with another. Fig. 8 is a front viewof one of the strip-carriers. Fig. 9 is acentral section of the same andits truck.

Fig. 10 is an ideal plan View of the quarterturn mechanism.

Similar characters 0f reference indicate corresponding parts.

In its main features the machine has the characteristics of the machinedescribedin. Patent No. 619,267, issued to me on the 14th day ofFebruary, 1899; but in the present invention instead of cuttingsimultaneously the Whole number of strips in the cell-case the machinecuts but two at a time. Other changes in construction and novel featureswill appear in the description and claims following.

On a suitable base Aare mounted four standards B, connected at theirupper ends by bridges C. These standards and bridges are provided withsuitable bearings E forguiderods F, to Which are secured the punch-headsF', provided With suitable punches F2 and a shear -blade F3 to sever thepunch-strip. These coact With dies F4, attached to a table F5, suitablysecured to the standards. On this table are mounted the feed-rolls G, towhich an intermittent motion is given by an oscillating disk G',carrying a pawl G2, engaging a ratchet G3 on one of the roll-shafts.

A regular reciprocating movement is imparted to the punch-heads byconnectingarms H, coupled to cranks H on cross-shafts H2. These shaftsare provided with bevelgears H2, engaging pinions H1, secured to a shaftH5, journaled in bearings B' and B2 and provided With a suitabledrive-pulley H6. On one of these shafts H2 is mounted a cam G4, whichengages a roll G5 on a reciprocating arm G6., pivoted on a stud GT atthe side of the machine. The free end of this arm connects by a link G8With a disk G9, secured to a rock-shaft G10, journaled in bearings G11.From cranks G12 the oscillating motion of the vdisk is transmitted tothe feed-rolf disks through the medium of con necting-rods G111 and G14,as clearly indicated in Figs. 1 and 4.

A furtherimprovement in the feed mechanism is shown in Figs. 4 and 5.The cam G4 is similar to that shown in Fig. 6 to give a very quickreturn to the feed-pawls, as the time for this feed is limited, beingonly about onefifth of a revolution of the main crank-shafts.

IOC

' B3 at each inner side of the machine.

This quick return of the pawl and actuating mechanism when running at ashigh a speed as is desired would prod nce a very detrimental jar if noprovision were made for cushioning the stroke. This is done by means ofa dash* pot G15, whose piston Glconnects with a crank G17 on therock-shaft G10. This dash-pot is of a simple and well-known type andneed not be particularly described. The return movements of the feedmechanism are caused by a powerful spring G48, one end of which connectsat some suitable point to the frame of the machine and the other endwith a crank-pin Gwon the said rock-shaft, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3. Bythis means the necessary quick action of the feed is secured withoutinjurious vibration.

In common with the machine described in my former patent a series ofcarriers I are employed to receive the cell-case strips between -theirholding-fingers I' and convey them from the points where the strips areso received to the point of ejection. In the case of both the primarystrips cut from the strawboard sheets l (part of a roll of strawboardnot shown) and the cross-strips cut from the sheet 2 at the oppositeside of the machine the most of the strip is fed between theholding-fingers before being cut off. The carrier-fingers are attachedto a rectangular table I2, centrally pivoted on a truck I3, having fourwheels I4, traveling in an oblong circular-ended track The detail of thecarrier is best shown in Figs. 7, S, and 9. In each end of thetruck-frame I3 is secured an axle I5, and on the outer ends of theseaxles are mounted the wheels I4. vBetween the wheels and the truck-frameare links I6 of exact and uniform length, connecting each pair of trucksin the whole series, the number in this machine being ten. By :referenceto Fig. 5 it will be seen that when any two of the carriers are in thesame plane their adjoining` edges lie close together and the spacing ofthe fingers from one to auother is uniform with the spacing on eachseparate carrier, so that through the whole circuit of the carrierstheir intermittent forward movement is exactly uniform. Near each sideof the truck-frame is a pair of ribs I7, and between these is mounted ateach side and at the longitudinal center an antifriction-roll I8,adapted to engage a sprocketwheel J, coinciding therewith and secured toa cross-shaft Jl near the upper end of the machine. The use of asprocket at each side of the carriers insures perfect steadiness in themovement of the carriers and prevents the possibility of theirgettingout of alinejoining reversed ratchetJ3 being also pro-- vided to preventany backlash. On the projecting portion of the shaft is pivoted an armJ4, and near one end of this is mounted a pawl J5 to engage the ratchetJ2. To the adjacent end of the arm is connected a rod J6, the other endof which couples to a crank J7 on one of a pair of elliptical gears J8,attached to a cross-shaft J9. This gear meshes with a similar gear J10on the shaft H2, the purpose of the elliptical gearing being to give arelatively slow forward movement to the carriers with a quick return ofthe actuating mechanism. To the other end of the arm J4 is connected alink J, coupled at the lower end to a pivoted pawl J12, adapted toengage the teeth of the ratchetwheel J 3. These pawls are so adjustedwith respect to each other that the pawl J3 engages a new tooth on thereversed ratchet at the extreme limit of the movement of the other pawlforward, and thus serve as a positive stop to any further forwardmovement of the train of carriers due to their own momentum. By placingthe ratchet-s side hy side instead of on opposite sides of the machinethis feed mechanism has been materially simplified and improved, as thestop-pawl is now connected with the same arm as the feed-pawl.

In Fig. 3 the quarter-turning device is shown in action, and Fig. l0 isan illustrative plan of the same.

K is an arm pivoted to some suitable part of the main frame at the top.A spring K' is mounted on the stem of a fork K2, hinged to the arm, andits other end abuts on a shoulder K3, which serves as a guide for thefork. At the free end of the arm is a roller K4, adapted to pass betweentwo connected carriers, and in making the turn over the semicircularpart of the track they gap apart, as shown in Figs. 3 and 5. It is to beunderstood that at the upper end of the track there is space for thecarrier to turn around in; but as it passes to the vertical part of thetrack it is held in alinement by the adjacent track, this feature beingshown in theformer patent above referred to. The action of the devicewill now be apparent. In Fig. lO the lower of the carriers is supposedto be prevented from further turning by the adjacent tracks. As soon asthis carrier has passed below the roller K4 the latter automaticallyswings inwardly between it and the one following. The roller thenengages the corner of the succeeding carrier, and as it advances it isturned one-fourth of a revolution, when it in turn enters the spaceoccupied by the lower carrier and is held from further tnrning.structure, but the action is very easy and smooth, occupying, as itdoes, the time required to feed the train of carriers forward half thelength of one of themthat is to say, seven revolutions of the presentmachine.

Below the table which supplies the crossstrips to complete the cell-caseis mounted a slapper M, connecting with a rock-shaft M' by The device isnot only very simple in` IOO arms M2. Adepending arm lVI3,provided witha roller M4, is also attached to the rock-shaft, and the roller travelson the periphery of a cam M5, attached to the cross-shaft J9. To anotherarm M6 is connected a spring M7, secured at the other end to themachine-frame. This spring gives the forward or inward impulse to theslapper as soon as the roller passes the highest point of the cam, whichis supposed to turn in the direction indicated by the arrow in Fig. 6.The slapper-plate spans two parallel strips, and as it acts at eachrevolution of the machine each strip in the carrier receives two blows,whereby all are perfectly bottomed in the carriers and interlocked.

The mechanism for ejecting the finished cell-case is best illustrated inFigs. 5, 7, 8, and 9. On the outer face of each carrier-table is mounteda stripperplate N, having a central axle N', which for the sake oflightness is made tubular, passing through the central hub of thecarrier. To the inner end of this axle is secured a cross N2, with aroller N3 mounted on each arm. Near the lower end of the machine a pairof cam-plates N4 are secured to a bridge N5, fixed to the main frame.The channels N6 of these cams form paths for a pair of the rollershowever the carriers may be turned. These channels are coincident withthe normal positions of the rollers at their upper ends, but curvedownwardly until at their lowest point, corresponding practically withthe middle of the m achine,they thrust the strip per-plate downwardlynearly the full length of the carrierngers. The eect is of course toeject the finished cell-case, and the action is performed very graduallywithout any shock whatever, and by the use of a broad flat surfacebearing against the edges of the strips. There is thus no possibility ofinjury to the completed cell-case, which drops gently and of its ownweight on the open space made to receive it in the middle of themachine-base. Hitherto much of the trouble in the operation of acell-case machine has been due to the ejector, which by the suddennessof its action and its limited surface exposed to the cell-case hastended to break the cell-case more or less. The injury to the particularcell-case was not so serious as the leaving of pieces of strawboardlodged between the carrier-fingers to obstruct the succeeding strip,whereby the carrier would become clogged and the machine would need tobe stopped andthe obstruction removed. This difficulty is entirelyremoved by the ejector above described.

The efficiency of this machine is due in no little measure to the factthat the punching and cutting are done .by both punchheadssimultaneously, instead of alternately, asin my former machines. Thisconstruction allows more time for the operation of the strawlboard andcarrier feeds and the action of the bottomer, and thu's admits of arelative increase in the speed of the machine.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is

l. In a cell-case machine, feed mechanism substantially as described,comprisinga pair of feed-rolls, a ratchet ou one of the rollshafts, anoscillating pawl coacting therewith, a connection of said pawl with arock-shaft, a connection of said rock-shaft with a driving-cam adaptedto i in part forward movement to the feed, a spring to retract saidrock-shaft, and a dash-pot to cushion the impact of the recoil due tothe action of said spring.

2. In a cell-case machine having feeding,- punching andv cuttingmechanism, substantially as described, strip-conveying mechanismcomprising aseries of carrier-,tables provided with strip-holding ngers,truck-frames on which said tables are centrally pivoted, provided withaxles and travelers near each end,'a pair of links connecting the axlesof adjacent carriers, antifriction-rolls near the sides of eachtruck-frame, a pair of sprockets adapted to engage therewith, and atrack with semicircular ends forming a pair of guides for saidtravelers, vone on each side of the machine.

3. In a cell-case machine, the combination with a train of revolublecarriers, of a quarter-turning device consisting essentially of ayielding arm adapted to spring inwardly between a connected pair ofcarriers and intercept the corner of one of them and turn it one-fourthof a revolution as the train advances.

4. The described quarter-turning device, comprising a pivoted arm, anantifriction-roll at the free end of it, and a spring adapted to swingthe roll inwardly between a connected pair of advancing carriers andintercept it in its forward movement.

5. In a machine of the type specified, carrier feed mechanismsubstantially as described, comprising sprockets engaging the train ofcarriers, a pair of ratchets mounted side by side on the sprocket-shaft,an oscillating arm adjacent to said ratchets, a pawl near one end ofsaid arm to engage the feedratchet, another pivoted pawl to engage the.

adjacent ratchet to form a positive stop to the movement ofthe carriers,a connection of the other end of the arm therewith, and a connection ofthe said arm with suitable driving mechanism.

6. In a cell-case machine, the described slapper or strip-bottom device,comprising a rock-shaft, a slapper-plate adapted to cover two or morestrips attached by arms thereto, a roll-carrying arm extending from saidshaft to an actuatingcam, a cam to engage said roll and retract theslapper-plate,and a spring adapted to actuate the slapper inwardly andagainst the cell-case strips.

'7. A cell-case ejector comprising a series IOO IIO

of holding-fingers for the strips, a perforated l attached thereto, across at the inner end of stripper-plate through which said fingerspass, a baekwardly-extendiug axle With lateral eX- tensions at the backend, and a fixed @am adapted to engage said stem and force thestripper-plate outwardly to eject the cell-ease as the carrier advances.

8. The combination With a strip-carrier, substantially as described,having a series of strip-holding lingers, of a stripper-plate perforatedto receive said lingers, a central axle said axle and a pair of xed camsadapted to engage opposite arms of said cross and force thestripper-plate outwardly as the carrier adr 5 V vanees.

In testimony whereof I afx my signature in presence of two witnesses.

JAMES H. BATCHELDER. Witnesses:

CHARLES A. ISE, D. E. GOODIN.

